UCI Ranked 9th Among Universities In Academic Excellence

UCI is ranked 9th among nation’s public universities by U.S. News & World Report Campus also receives high marks for low student debt, serving veterans

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 12, 2017 — U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University of California, Irvine ninth among public universities nationwide in its 2018 Best Colleges report, released today. The ranking is derived from 15 measures of academic excellence, weighted by relevance to high-quality education.

“Once again, we are delighted that UCI is deservedly recognized as one of the finest public universities in the U.S.,” said Chancellor Howard Gillman. “We are especially proud that UCI provides world-class opportunities to those who traditionally have not had access to higher education, as more than half of our undergraduates are first-generation students.”

It’s the third consecutive year that UCI has claimed the No. 9 spot. Among all American universities – public and private – it ranks 42nd. Evaluators considered 1,611 institutions this year.

Pink tree and UCI engineering building
U.S. News & World Report has rated UCI’s undergraduate engineering program 40th in the country. Steve Zylius / UCI
The report also rates programs and selected undergraduate majors. UCI climbed in the following categories:

Best college for veterans: 16th
Best undergraduate business program: 31st
Best undergraduate engineering program: 40th
In addition, UCI scored highly – 18th – among all national universities for the least amount of student debt at graduation.

These rankings – available online at www.usnews.com/colleges – come on the heels of the third annual New York Times College Access Index, which names UCI the No. 1 university in the U.S. “doing the most for the American dream” via its commitment to economic diversity. It’s the second time UCI has topped the index.

This year, UCI also became the only U.S. News top 50 university eligible for U.S. Department of Education designation as both a Hispanic-serving institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution, demonstrating its dedication to providing a world-class education to every qualified student.

U.S. News’ Best Colleges report categorizes universities by mission, based on factors developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and then applies weighted measurements of graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity and more. In addition, analyses by administrators at peer institutions are taken into account.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.